We have been getting new Green Lama stories from Moonstone under the authorship of Adam Lance Garcia, and now finally the long-promised novel, Crimson Circle.
Created for the Munsey pulps, The Green Lama was really American Jethro Dumont. He had traveled to Tibet, and was a real Buddhist lama, though he disguised himself as the Rev. Dr. Pali and the Green Lama. With a small group of associates, he fought crime.
Written by Kendal Foster Crossen under the pen-name Richard Foster, the series lasted for 14 pulp novels. Foster was able to keep the rights to the character, and also wrote the comic-book series at Prize Comics, and with his own comic-book company, Spark, published a Green Lama title. The comic-book versions made him more of a superhero who could fly.
Altus Press reprinted the original stories in three volumes, then we started to get new stories from Airship 27, with Garcia’s work being in the lead. It was found that the Green Lama was not public domain, and Garcia became the authorized writer for new stories. These would then come from Moonstone.
So far we’ve gotten some new and reprinted stories: Scions, Horror in Clay, and Unbound, along with some stories in Moonstone anthologies. Most of Garcia’s works had the Green Lama going up against Lovecraftian horrors, aided by his group of associates. Thankfully, he was able to call upon powers that was previously only shown in the comic-book version.
Crimson Circle was the long promised next work, and it finally came out. A much longer work than previously, it brings together the Lama’s current and previous associates, even pulling in a villain from an early Green Lama story. Here the Lama and his friends are dealing with a new threat of “cannibal killers” in New York. At the same time, a sinister assassin known only as Omega, is targeting the Lama’s associates, trying to find out who the Lama really is.
But both matters are the work of the Collective, a mysterious group of 22 members, who hide their identity behind greek letters. Who is behind the Collective is unclear. But they got their hands on something dangerous, and foolishly think they can go up against the Green Lama.
By the end, we have a new direction for the Green Lama. This will hopefully lead into the next novel, supposedly titled Redemption. Maybe we won’t have to wait as long for it as we did for Crimson Circle. I look forward to it.
